Let’s Connect

African Animals in Masia Mara Part 1

This Lux Adventure was on a Safari in Nairobi Kenya within the Masia Mara. Featuring Laragai Ranch, tribal traditions, natural healing remedies, lots of African animals, laughter and fun!

The Maasai Mara National Reserve (also known as Masai Mara and by the locals as The Mara) is a large game reserve in Narok County, Kenya, contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Mara Region, Tanzania. It is named in honor of the Maasai people (the ancestral inhabitants of the area) and their description of the area when looked at from afar: “Mara,” which is Maa (Maasai language) for “spotted,” an apt description for the circles of trees, scrub, savanna, and cloud shadows that mark the area.

It is globally famous for its exceptional population of African animals including Masai lions, African leopards, Tanzanian cheetahs, and the annual migration of zebra, Thomson’s gazelle, and wildebeest to and from the Serengeti every year from July to October, known as the Great Migration.

Wildebeest, topi, zebra, and Thomson’s gazelle migrate into and occupy the Mara reserve, from the Serengeti plains to the south and Loita Plains in the pastoral ranches to the north-east, from July to October or later. Herds of all three species are also resident in the reserve.

All members of the “Big Five” African Animals (lion, leopard, African elephant, African buffalo, and black rhinoceros) are found in the Maasai Mara. The population of black rhinos was fairly numerous until 1960, but it was severely depleted by poaching in the 1970s and early 1980s, dropping to a low of 15 individuals. Numbers have been slowly increasing, but the population was still only up to an estimated 23 in 1999.

Hippopotami and Nile crocodiles are found in large groups in the Mara and Talek rivers. Leopards, hyenas, cheetahs, jackals, and bat-eared foxes can also be found in the reserve. The plains between the Mara River and the Esoit Siria Escarpment are probably the best area for viewing African animals, in particular regarding lion and cheetah.

More than 470 species of birds have been identified in the park, many of which are migrants, with almost 60 species being raptors. Birds that call this area home for at least part of the year include: vultures, marabou storks, secretary birds, hornbills, crowned cranes, ostriches, long-crested eagles, African pygmy-falcons and the lilac-breasted roller, which is the national bird of Kenya.

Getting to view all these African animals up close was an experience that one will never forget.

Lux Adventures was founded by Lloyd Charton who dedicated his life to trekking the great outdoors and conquering the highest mountains on the planet while providing a top notch world class luxury experience for his team of fellow trekking enthusiast. Due to a tragic fall that occurred on Mt Baldy in Los Angeles, California on March 11th 2017, Lloyd lost his life but will never be forgotten.